Ex-Shin Bet chief says he is sitting on trove of incriminating information about Netanyahu; PM accuses him of blackmail

During a wide-ranging interview with Channel 12 that aired earlier this evening, former Shin Bet chief Nadav Argaman says he is sitting on a trove of information regarding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that he will share with the public someday if he deems it necessary.

He had hinted earlier in the interview at disagreements he had with the premier during his tenure from 2016 to 2021 — in particular, surrounding the matter of Qatari money being allowed into the Gaza Strip — but says toward the end that he is “currently keeping everything that happened between myself and the prime minister” out of the public sphere.

But, he says, “it’s quite clear that I have a great deal of knowledge, which I can put to use.”

Pushed to clarify, Argaman says that, “If the State of Israel or if I come to the conclusion that the prime minister has decided that he is going to act in contradiction to the law, then I will not have a choice and I will say everything I know and have withheld myself from saying until today.”

In response to Argaman’s comments, Netanyahu accuses the former Shin Bet chief of blackmail.

“Tonight, another dangerous red line was crossed for Israeli democracy,” the PMO says. “Never, in the entire history of Israel, and the history of democracy, has the former head of a secret service carried out blackmail against a sitting prime minister on live television.”

“The criminal mafia-style threats will not deter me,” says Netanyahu. “I will do whatever is necessary to ensure Israel’s security.”

Netanyahu also turns on the current Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, whom he has reportedly been preparing to fire, and accuses him of also taking part in a blackmail campaign against him “through media briefings in recent days.”

“The only goal is to try and prevent me from making the decisions needed to restore the Shin Bet after its abysmal failure on October 7,” says the premier.

The Shin Bet pushes back against the “serious accusation” of blackmail.

“Shin Bet head Ronen Bar devotes all of his time to security matters, efforts to recover the hostages, and the defense of democracy,” the security agency says. “Any statement to the contrary is devoid of any truth.”